Favorite Schools

Favorite Teams

Alabama

Change Region

comments

Bubbamania in full swing during Friday's second round of Masters as Watson takes control

5861ab7e3cff120e510f6a706700850f.jpg

All eyes were on Bubba Watson during Friday's second round of the Masters, especially on the back nine where he made five consecutive birdies. He fashioned a round of 4-under-par 68 that put him at 7 under for the tournament and at the top of the Masters leaderboard. (AP Photo)

It's not as though he hasn't been here before. Bubba Watson owns a green jacket, thanks to his Masters victory in 2012 by way of a great wedge shot in sudden death that set up a putt that allowed him to beat Louis Oosthuizen.

The former star at Faulkner State Community College in Baldwin County knows this Augusta National Golf Club. He loves Augusta National Golf Club. And in Friday's second round of the Masters, Watson and Augusta National were going steady. Big time.

His round of 4-under 68 doesn't have the sound of a big round, but it sure had the feel of that kind of round. That was especially true on the back nine where, starting at the par-3 12th hole, Watson made five consecutive birdies -- the third-best string in the tournament's history -- and distanced himself from the rest of the field at 7 under par.

"I felt really
good,'' Watson said of his play. "You know, you start off hitting a
tee shot in the fairway on the first hole, hit a good iron shot, so that gets
the confidence going and gets everything going, your juices flowing.

"You know, it's the same thing. It's not science here. It's try to hit the greens, and if you're
hitting the greens that means you're obviously hitting your tee shots
well. So that's all I'm trying to do is
just hit the greens, that means my tee shots are good and two putts, maybe
throw in a birdie here or there. So
that's really all I was doing and that's what I've done the last two days and
it's worked out so far.''

Indeed it has. Watson made six straight pars to open play before getting a birdie at 7. AT 9, he made his first bogey of the tournament -- he was the last player who hadn't made a bogey this year -- but he got it back and more with birdies at 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16. The birdie at 14 was a long putt with a break of about 20 feet and was probably the highlight of the birdie string.

"Well, the four
straight birdies I had a couple years ago felt a lot better, but yeah, it's the
same stretch I had before,'' Watson said. "The two par
5s are reachable for me. Again, 16, I hit a great 9‑iron
downwind, it almost went in the hole. And I hit a 9‑iron into No. 12.

"So the three holes are a lot tougher
to birdie for me, but I've done it before.
You're still focused on what you're doing, you're not really thinking
you've just had three in a row, you've had four in a row. It's one of those things, every guy
in the field has had that stretch before, playing with their buddies or playing
in a tournament, so it's not that big a deal when we think about it. But at the Masters, it makes it a big deal.''

Watson is the biggest deal at the Masters heading into Saturday's third round. John Senden (68 on Friday) is at 4 under and alone in second place. Thomas Bjorn (68) and Jonas Blixt (71) are both at 3 under, along with Jordan Spieth (70) who birdied the final hole to get there and defending champion Adam Scott (72), who started the day at 3 under, dropped to even, and fought his way back to 3 under.

Fred Couples, the Masters champion in 1992, shot a 71 and is at 2 under par. He is joined there by Jimmy Walker (72) and Jim Furyk (68). At 1 under are Kevin Streelman (71), Stephen Gallacher (72), Jamie Donaldson (72), Russell Henley (70) and Kevin Stadler (73).

Brandt Snedeker (74) leads a group of six players at even, joining Lucas Glover (69), Matt Kuchar (71), Louis Oosthuizen (75), Lee Westwood (71) and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castrano (69). Oosthuizen was at 4 under at one point int he day, but a triple bogey at 15 and bogey at 18 dropped him to even.

The other story is the many big names, players who have won this championship in the past, who will not play on the weekend, having missed the cut. That list includes Phil Mickelson, Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Victor Dubuisson, Ernie Els. Webb Simpson and Charl Schwartzel, all of whom missed the cut by one shot. Also missing the cut were Graeme McDowell, Zach Johnson, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Mark O'Meara and Jason Dufner.

The six players with connections to the state of Alabama and the Gulf Coast is led by Watson, the tournament's leader. Snedeker advances, as does Stewart Cink (72) at 1 over. McDowell (78), Dufner (74) and Boo Weekley (83) did not make the cut.